Edge roll for cushion spring assemblies



Feb. 3,1959 2,871,925

EDGE ROL FOR CUSHION SPRING ASSEMBLIES W. F. RI CHARDSON Filed June 21,1957 INVENTOR. 1447/17/22 Fzfiardxm BY Uni-tedStates PatentO EDGE ROLLFOR CUSHION SPRING ASSEMBLIES William F. Richardson, Carthage, Mo.,assignor to Flex- O-Lators, Inc., Carthage, Mo., a corporation ofMissouri Application June 21, 1957, Serial No. 667,687 2 Claims. (Cl.155-184) This invention relates to new and useful improvements inupholstery, and has particular reference to an elongated padded member,commonly designated an edge roll, adapted to be applied around the uppermarginal edge of a cushion spring assembly or deck, between the springsand the overlying layers of padding, whereby to protect the paddingagainst wear by contact with the spring wires, and whereby to providethe finished cushion with a smooth and firm, yet comfortably padded andyieldable edge.

An important object of the present invention is the provision of anupholstery edge roll of the character described which while possessingsufiicient yieldability to function as a cushioning pad, may easily bemanufactured to possess any desired cross-sectional contour, and toretain said contour through long periods of usage. Generally, thisobject is accomplished by forming the roll of layers of a soft orcompressible material such as certain types of paper, folded on itselfalong lines longitudinal to the edge roll in a series of layers with thelayers so disposed to each other and of relatively varying widths so asto provide the desired'cross-sectional contour, and then stitching thelayers together along lines longitudinal to the edge roll to preventrelative movement or shifting thereof. Since the types of paper andother padding material suitable for this purpose are usually soft andeasily torn or damaged, the shape-retaining characteristics of the edgeroll are further enhanced by enclosing the padding layers in a sheath ofa relatively tough, pliable material.

Another important object is the provision of an upholstery edge roll ofthe character described wherein the padding material itself formsstrands extending longitudinally of the edge roll and of sufficienttoughness that clips or hog rings each encircling one of said strandsand a wire of the spring assembly will secure the edge roll firmly andpermanently to the spring assembly. Said strands are formed bylongitudinal folds in certain of the padding layers, the folds beingtightly compressed and secured, whereby to impart the requisitetoughness thereto, by lines of stitching through said padding layers.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, efficiency anddependability of operation, and adaptability for use, wherever paddedstrips having a degree of flexibility may be desired.

With these objects in view, as Well as other objects which will appearin the course of the specification, reference will be had to thedrawing, wherein:

Fig. '1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a cushion spring assembly,showing an edge roll embodying the present invention applied thereto,and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line II-II ofFig. l, with parts omitted and parts broken away.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts in both of the views, andthe numeral 2 applies generally to a cushion spring assembly comprisinga plurality of helical springs 4 arranged in rows with their axesparallel and coextensive. The upper end loops 6 of said springs are icedisposed in substantially coplanar relationship, and said end loops ofadjacent springs in each row overlap slightly. The springs are joined bya plurality of helical binder coils 8, each of said coils passingbetween corresponding springs in each of the rows of springs and coilingabout the overlapping portions of the top loops thereof. This method ofjoining the springs is illustrative only, and is not restrictive in anyway. The lower end loops of springs 4 may be attached to a rigid base orframe, not shown, or in the case of a double-faced or reversiblecushion, may be joined by binder coils similar to coils 8.

The edge roll forming the subject matter of the present invention isdesignated generally by the numeral 10, and constitutes a padding core12 and an enclosing sheath 14, the edge roll having the form of anelongated strip adapted to be laid on the top surface of spring assembly2, around the marginal edge thereof, and secured thereto by means to bedescribed hereinbelow. Core 12 comprises a plurality of strips 16 of apadding material such as a soft pulp paper. In order to provide agreater degree of yieldability, the paper may be of the type commonlyknown as waffle paper, having regularly spaced indentations formedtherein. 16 -of padding paper are used. In order to impart the desiredcross-sectional contour to the edge roll, strips 16 are foldedlongitudinally of the edge roll to form a plurality of superimposedlayers as shown, the Width and disposition of the respective layersbeing such as to provide the over-all contour desired. For example, inmany cases it is desirable that the edge roll be generally wide andfiat, in order to provide broad support for the upholstery layers tobeapplied thereover without undue bulk, and that the outer edge of theroll overhang the edge of the spring deck, both to protect theupholstery layers against wearing contact with the springs and toprovide a cushion edge providing a high degree of comfort. For thisreason the strips 16 are folded to present a minimum number of layers atthe inner edge of the roll, the number of layers being more or lessgradually increased toward the outer edge of the roll, a large number oflayers being gathered into an outwardly and upwardly inclined bead 18extending longitudinally of the roll at the outer edge thereof, saidbead being secured by a line of stitching 20 adjacent the outer edge ofthe roll and extending through all of the layers of padding 16. Anotherline of stitching 22 extends longitudinally of the roll substantiallymidway between the inner and outer edges thereof, being stitched throughall of the padding layers. The function of stitching 20 and 22 isprimarily to prevent shifting of padding layers 16 relative to eachother, whereby the contour of the edge roll is maintained over longperiods of use. Any number of lines of stitching desired could of coursebe used.

At the inner edge of the roll a relatively tough strand 24 is formed bygathering a number of layers of padding 16 into a bead extendinglongitudinally of the roll, and

a tightly compressing and securing said bead by a line of stitching 26.Similarly, a strand 28 is formed/at the lower side of the roll adjacentthe outer edge thereof and secured by stitching 30. When the edge rollis applied to the spring assembly, strand 28 is disposed substantiallytangent to the top coils 6 of marginal springs 4, and is secured theretoby a plurality of ring clips 32 commonly known as hog rings, eachcomprising a length of Wire sharpened at its ends and adapted by aspecial tool to be closed in a loop to encircle spring loop 6 and strand28, piercing the edge roll in inwardly spaced relation from stitching30. Similarly, strand 24 is secured As shown in Fig. 2, three strips ofspring assembly 2, the inner edge of the roll may be notched asindicated at 36 (see Fig. 1), in order that it may be bent or curvedaround the corner without breaking or buckling.

Since the soft pulp paper padding layers 16, or any other paddingmaterials suitable for this purpose, are ordinarily weak and easilytorn, and hence ordinarily could not retain any of the stitching underrepeated flexing Without tearing, the sheath 14 is preferably formed ofa very tough, tear-resistant material such as a heavy grade of kraftpaper, and the stitching 20, 22, 26 and 30 is sewed through said sheath.This provides good anchorage for the stitching, and also is of value inretain ing the strands 24- and 28 tightly compressed to resist tearingby the clips 32 and 34. In order to prevent the sheath itself fromimparting too much rigidity to the edge roll, and to prevent breaking ofthe sheath when the edge roll is flexed in use, the sheath is preferablyformed of X-crepe paper, this type of paper having two sets of creperingwrinkles formed therein in angular relation to each other. This paperhas a two-way stretch which imparts a degree of flexibility to thefinished edge roll.

Thus it will be seen that an edge roll having several advantages hasbeen produced. It is extremely economical and is easily formed onautomatic machinery. The strands 24 and 28 necessary for eflicientconnection to a spring assembly are formed from the padding materialitself, longitudinal beads of said padding being compressed to formcord-like members. The folded relationship of the padding layers 16permit easy production of one edge roll having virtually any desiredcontour. While the roll has sufficient yieldability to perform itspadding function, it will retain its contour over long periods of use.Any substantial change of shape would necessitate shifting of thepadding layers relative to each other in their own planes, and suchshifting is prevented by the stitching through said layers. The edgeroll has been found sufliciently strong to serve the function of theusual marginal or frame wire of the spring assembly, no such wire beingshown in the drawing. If the assembly included such a margin wire,strand 28 would lie thereagainst and be secured thereto by clips 32.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention,it will be apparent that many minor changes of structure and operationcould be made without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An edge roll for cushion spring assemblies comprising an elongatedmember formed of longitudinally extending'strips of soft, easilytearable sheet padding material, said strips being folded longitudinallyinto a series of superimposed layers with said layers proportioned anddisposed to provide the desired cross-sectional contour to the finishededge roll, a sheath of relatively tough, tear-resistant pliable materialenclosing said padding material, and a plurality of lines of stitchingextending longitudinally of the edge roll and sewed through said paddinglayers and said sheath to secure said sheath to said padding layers andto secure said padding layers against shifting movements relative toeach other.

2. An edge roll as recited in claim 1 wherein said padding stripsconstitute sheets of soft pulp paper, and wherein said sheath is formedof X-crepe paper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

